Better layouts for queue lines
We have to wait in line. As population and consumerism increases, this becomes a fact of our times - we just have to wait in line. We'd rather not and we even feel excitement when we get someplace and there's no line. The lines we wait in are called queue lines, or que lines. The origin of the name queue is pretty bizarre. An old British word, from the French, a queue is a braid of hair hanging down from the back of the head. That trail, or line, evolved to people waiting in a line that trailed down.
During one summer a while ago, I worked in ride operations at Six Flags in Arlington, Texas. One task was to monitor the line as people waited for the elevator to the observation deck at the top of the orange Tower. There were two identical, mirror-image que lines for the two elevators. But the elevators would travel at different speeds and one line would invariably move slower than the other.
I noticed how this frustrated some people. I also saw that, at the entrance, people were not sure which line to get into - were they both open? which was better? do they both go to the same place? As many people are sheep-like, they would follow the crowd and often would line up on one side only. We would go tell entering people that there were two lines but that made it more frustrating as those people would then be in a much shorter line and people at the back of the long line would see them move to the front of the que house.
So, I experimented. During the times when the que house would not fill up, I closed off one line and used the other line to service both elevators (middle figure). Bingo - it solved all the above problems. The line also moved twice as fast - it was feeding two elevators, not just one. Even though the line was longer, I sensed that people didn't mind the length as much since they were almost constantly moving forward. At the end of the line, we positioned the host who would guide the guests into one of the two elevator holding areas. I also moved the turnstile from the very end of the line to the second to the end row. The turnstile slowed people down as they entered into the elevator and moving it allowed people to get through it and gather in the last row. This sped up the process of boarding the elevators. Seeing that the new configuration was successful, I asked the supervisors to come take a look. I explained the rationale and let them witness the difference. They agreed and decided to rearrange the lines in that que house (right figure). We used the whole area for a single line. It worked well. It improved the guest experience in this que house.

A few principles for better quelinesThe time waiting in line remains constant whether there is one line or two, but movement is faster in one line.
According to Richard Larson of MIT, considered to be an authority on lines, the psychology of queuing is more important than the statistics of the wait itself. Unoccupied time (standing still) feels longer than occupied time (moving). We prefer to keep moving.
Mirrors are often installed next to elevators - if people have something to do (checking their appearance) the wait for the elevator seems shorter. As is done in some theme parks, long que lines could have video monitors, posters, or views of the attraction.The biggest influence on our feelings about lines has to do with our perception of fairness.
According to the NY Times, the universally acknowledged standard is first-come first-served. The single line serving multiple destinations is the fastest, fairest way to move waiting people. "Next in line, Please." Surveys show that many people will wait longer in line for fast food if the establishment uses a first-come first-served, single queue ordering system as opposed to a multi-queue multi register setup. The single line avoids the instances of "I always get in the slowest line" and "How come that other line is moving faster?"All else being equal, people who wait less than they anticipated leave happier than those who wait longer than expected.
This is partly why Disney, the master of queuing psychology, overestimates wait times for rides. Guests are pleasantly surprised when they can board a car or boat ahead of schedule. Source: The New York Times, August 2012.Some line users will be in an unfamiliar environment.Entrance cues (signs, placement, rope openings) and directions, if necessary, should be easy to see, read, and understand. The system of line layout should be easy to grasp and understand.There should be an obvious single entrance.
The line waiter should be able to assess the layout and where to begin without having to pause his/her walking progress.Ideally, the reward should be clearly visible from the line entrance.
The walker can see their destination and the anticipated reward (ticket window, entrance, ordering counter).An angled rope better conveys direction and motion than one at a right angle.The line waiter should get closer to his/her destination with each turn.
There is a satisfying feeling of progress if each turn gets one closer, rather than going back to the beginning area; if the space for such a layout exists.
We prefer the apparent shortest route to our destination. More barriers and more turns may convey a more complicated, therefore, longer route. Multiple destination windows should be in a convex arc, not concave.
It is easier (and quicker) for a customer to see available windows when arranged in an arc curving towards the viewer, rather than away from the viewer.Existing architectural landmarks can help guide the first-time user.
A column, arch, or signpost can make it easier to provide directions and a target for the customer.A line that turns right needs less instruction or education.
Most people are right-handed and will turn right, out of preference or habit. Amusement parks put info guides to the right as one enters and gift shops on the left of the entrance (on the right as you exit).Minimum wheelchair width and turning radius uses the floor space more efficiently.
The area for the que ropes should occupy a minimal amount of floor space. A line system should have a minimal number of turns.The lines should be regularly monitored and adjusted to minimize line turns.
Respect the user’s time, and energy - remove ropes, reposition stanchions, and open up lanes when necessary. Avoid the empty maze. Employees should be alert to a short line and make adjustments to minimize unnecessary walking.If a crowd sees clear logical cues on where to line up, is guided in a reasonable manner, sees their reward, and is shown some respect, they are more likely to remain orderly. When a host allows chaos by not clearly showing the way, the crowd is more likely to take the matter into their own hands and behave accordingly.

Some user guidelines that impact complex movement in schools of fish, flocks of birds, swarms of insects, and crowds of humans.
• Follow and keep pace with the person in front (if there is one).
• Don’t invade the personal space of the person in front, but
• Keep the space between you and the person ahead to a minimum.
• Keep moving.
• Your footprint of space should be kept to a minimum - don't spread out belongings, boxes, or luggage.
• Avoid holding a spot for others and do not cut in line. Others are in just a hurry and feel just as deserving.Single lines
How many times have you been in line and another line moved faster? Or the store opened up another register and people behind you get in that line and are checked out before you even get to the cashier? Unforeseen random events, such as a check writer, mispriced item, or price check, can slow the line. In single lines, line stoppers hold up just one register, while the others remain moving. Examples below have each implemented the single line - a wide aisle with the check-out impulse items all along the path.Lesson: Next-in-line from a single line is the fairest and most efficient system to check out customers.Stanchion positioning
Often, I see the stanchions (the poles holding the ropes) positioned in an orderly fashion, but inefficiently - too much wasted space. The purpose of these stanchions and ropes is to help guide the user on where to go, maintain a sense of order, and create a fair environment of waiting-one's-turn.
Poor placement of stanchions can create longer lines and an inefficient use of floor space. We seek the shortest path to our destination. We are likely to round the corners as tight as we can - it gets us to our destination sooner. So if the stanchions are set as in the photos above, we will round the end stanchion to shorten the line. This action may be partly caused by the notion that people may not like to be corralled, to be herded like cattle. We've seen people duck under ropes or remove the rope to get through. In the diagrams below, note the wasted space and how the improved layout accommodates more people in the same space.
'Normal' layout. Wasted space. Improved layout.

Respect the flow of traffic.
Above left: A proposal for the queline layout at a coat check in a large convention facility. The original plan had the quelines (in the darker grey areas) jutting out into the main trafficway. Once the traffic and crowd (green below) was plotted, the location for the queline (below right) became clear - those white areas between the escalators and the elevators.
That placement (above right) also allowed the line to have a single obvious entry, begin at the column landmark, end at the second column landmark, and allow users to move toward that column destination.

Clerk booths/windows should arc towards the customer
It is easier (and quicker) for a customer to see available windows when arranged in an arc curving towards the viewer, rather than away from the viewer.A few examplesThe Container Store
I was in their store on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. The grey angled rectangular mass to the left is a display island of products and the grey vertical rectangle is a structural column. Note the wasted spaces in the corners, especially the awkward dead end at the last turn in the line. Some people would approach the entrance but move to the right of the rope - between the rope and the column - the column serves as a visual cue or landmark. Since there was no line while I was there, I rearranged the ropes as shown in the 'after' diagram. I angled the entry line to better guide people. In the 'Even better' diagram, the column serves as a landmark starting point, a longer row is created in the entry area, and the product display is moved so that people waiting can walk around both sides of the island.

Starbucks SoHoAn angled line better conveys direction and motion than a horizontal or vertical line.
This line turns around a pole (note the scuffs of the foot traffic on the floor - showing how we curve in an arc, rather than turning sharply like a military drill. Since the view of much of the line is blocked by the column, I angled the rope to serve as a visual cue to turn to the left. I also lengthened the ropes (there was plenty of slack) and angled the 'Enter here' sign slightly to convey which side of the sign to enter. When I checked days later, this new arrangement was still in place. Update: the store has been completely remodeled and this arrangement is no longer necessary.

The Guggenheim Museum
I had already moved the end stanchions to accommodate more people. I would have recreated the original poor layout and shot a photo of that but the guard said no and kept watching me.

Examples of the angled end ropes
The Empire State Building
B&H superstore, Manhattan
9/11 Memorial

A few examples of inefficient linesThe Bush Presidential Center
Above: the serpentine que line for Audio Tours is at the back of the ticket counter. The map on the stanchion shows the layout: Entrance in the lower right, exhibits and food service are located at the top, off the map, and the building exit is at lower left. Notice the 4 straight lines for Ticket Sales. Problems:
1.
The two lines on the left block the exit lane from the exhibit galleries and Bistro Cafe. Fortunately, nobody realizes they are there, so I witnessed no blocking of the exit aisle.
2. The visitor who enters from the Security line on the lower right cannot even see the left lines.
3.
As is normal, visitors line up behind other people, rather than understanding that there are 4 separate lines.
4. Most people move to the right after buying their ticket - the opposite side from the entrance to the Audio Tours.
This is another example of the architect or designer making decisions while looking at the plan, instead of seeing it through the eyes of the user.
In the plan, a round counter with lines leading u to each side seems okay. But, no user sees it that way. The user enters and sees a counter behind some columns, some stanchions and ropes, and some people at a register. "That must be the ticket line, let's get behind those people."
Below right: such a simple solution. Use the more fair and easier-to-understand single line format, free the main aisles for entry and exit, and move the entrance to the Audio Tours to the entry aisle.

Whole Foods Store
A ridiculous system: first, you get into one of 5 lines (gambling that you picked the fast moving one) each one color-coded with banners overhead. Then a voice recording and a monitor display the next open register based on the colored line. Confusing, awkward, and unfair.
Better: there should simply be a single line - the monitor and voice direct you to the next open register. Easier. More fair. More intuitive. And a line that moves 5 times faster.

Will Rogers OKC airport
These extensions are totally useless - a waste of stanchions and rope. Notice how the line would just go almost straight down the row - no appreciable zigzag.

Museum of Modern Art
Remember: people will cut corners - the fewer corners, the longer the line. These rows could have been oriented the long way (fewer corners) and accommodated more people. Also, the museum staff needs to be more attentive to opening up shortcuts when the line is short.

Taco Bell
One of the worst examples of an inefficient layout. The rails are so far apart that they don't really form a que line. It is also not intuitive where to go so the store had to put up a big sign as you enter that says 'Enter' with an arrow. If there is no line, most people still ignore the sign, ignore the que line, and walk around and right up to the counter.
Below: another example of absolutely useless barriers (also in a QSR Tex-Mex place):

The implied stanchions and ropes
An interesting alternative - the rope lines are marked and embedded into the floor. Even though they are just a guide to help control traffic, it seems to work. New Yorkers are conditioned and comfortable with forming lines. It sure does look better, is easier to maintain, and one doesn't have to attach or detach ropes as the length of the line varies.
A line of residents who are seeking rations of water forms on the playground of a school in Sendai, Japan, after the earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011.
Below: In a museum to denote 'step no closer to the painting' and lines and arrows to encourage a clear exit path from an airport train.

A great idea to show an open spot, teller, clerk, or ticket window:Suggestions to improve the TSA queue lines
At the OKC airport, these TSA agents are standing in just about the worst place they could find - blocking the trafficway exit lane for deplaning passengers. Just not thinking of their place in the environment and their impact on their surroundings.Lesson:
We are a part of a larger organism, our actions and attitudes affect those around us. Empathy is considerate.

A few days later, at the airport in Newark NJ, I was catching a flight back to OK. I found the closest Security line - "All C Gates" but was directed to a different line in another part of the terminal. I didn't protest the longer walk, I just went along to the other line. There, I asked which line was shorter: Premier Access or Economy. Premier Access, the agent told me. I got in that line, but quickly noticed that the Economy line was moving faster. I mentioned that to the guy behind me who had this pissed off look on his face. He nodded his agreement. A couple behind him commented that someone that got at the end of the Economy line was already at the ID check desk. Okay, this is not good. One line shouldn't be moving that much faster than the other. Our line snaked back towards the TSA Agent who was directing passengers to the one of 4 check desks. I spoke to the agent, Ryan, and pointed out he was directing the Economy line to 1 of 3 agents, leaving only the 4th agent to check both the Premier Access and employee lines.
Ryan (in the white shirt and blue gloves) replied, "Just a minute", and went back to directing the Economy line, stepping away and ignoring me. I spoke to him again and pointed out the discrepancy. He gave me some lame excuse, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. The line moved a bit. No supervisor - I didn't even see Ryan motion or call for one. I asked Ryan again. This time his excuse was that the problem was not his fault, it was with the airline's arrangement of the ropes. Now, I was in the row by the employee entrance - an older agent walked by and I explained the issue to him. He nodded understandingly and said he would take care of it. Our line moved faster - he had told the Economy agent closest to Premier Access to pull some people from the Premier Access line. Soon after, when I looked back, Ryan was again directing Economy line to 3 agents and ignoring the Premier Access line. As a result, the economy line was again moving much faster than the Premier Access line, 3 Economy agents versus 1 for both Premier Access and employees.
Left: existing agent assignments: (Shared 1) and (3). Right proposed: (Shared 2) and (2)

I saw the older man again, thanked him for helping, and had him point out the podium where I could find the supervisor. No one was there, I waited. Finally a very rude agent made me move. He returned and asked what I needed. He pointed to the other side of the security area - that's where the supervisor was. Fine. I explained the issue to the supervisor. He said he would talk to Ryan.

Problem
A thoughtless division of agents among 3 lines: 1 agent for both Employees and Premier Access. 3 agents for Economy.
I realize that as a Government agency, there is little incentive to be efficient - there is no competition and few alternatives for the passenger. We put up with it, we can't boycott, we can't take our business elsewhere; so we shuffle along through an inefficient disrespectful system. Rarely, does anyone speak up in protest.Lesson: Often, we get just what we deserve.

Solution
Assign and apportion the number of agents to more fairly serve all people passing through the security line: 2 agents for Economy and 2 agents for Premier Access and employees. That is much better and much more fair than the 1 and 3 split.queue: word origin
queue, que or q - they're all pronounced the same.
French, from Old French cue, tail, from Latin cauda.
1. A line of waiting people or vehicles. "Queue up at the box office".
2. A long braid of hair worn hanging down the back of the neck; a pigtail.
3. Computer Science. a. A sequence of stored data or programs awaiting processing.

Word history
When the British stand in queues (as they have been doing at least since 1837, when this meaning of the word is first recorded in English), they may not realize they form a tail. The French word queue from which the English word is borrowed is a descendant of Latin cauda, meaning "tail". French queue appeared in 1748 in English, referring to a plait of hair hanging down the back of the neck. By 1802 wearing a queue was a regulation in the British army, but by the mid-19th century queues had disappeared along with cocked hats. Latin cauda is also the source of Italian coda, which was adopted into English as a musical term (like so many other English musical terms that come from Italian). A coda is thus literally the "tail end" of a movement or composition.

Alternate names
• Z line since the letter Z mimics the path of the waiting line.
• wait line or waitline
• next-line or nexinline as in "Next in line, please." ("Next on line, please.") www.jamesrobertwatson.com/quelines.html